The Right Thing to Do
by See Jane Write
Summary: To put it simply, Susan realized her feelings for Mark and got off the train in season three's Union Station. SusanMark. Chapter Three up.
1. Chapter 1

The Right Thing to Do

Summary: To put it simply, Susan realized her feelings for Mark and got off the train in season three's "Union Station". Susan/Mark

Author's Note: Idea came to me while watching the finale of _Friends_, and I'm trying my best to stay as far away from that as I can, but the situations are very similar! As with anything, feedback is greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I don't have the money to hire a lawyer or the time to go to court, so don't sue.

"Ma'am, are you going to sit down?" the conductor asked as the train kept moving. The station was barely visible by this point, but Susan Lewis was still standing at the window almost as if she was in a trance. He sighed heavily before approaching her. "Ma'am, you need to sit down," he informed her.

Susan did not hear him. She was still gazing out the window. The sights went by her, but she did not focus on any of them. She was thinking about what Mark had said right before she got on the train. He said he loved her.

She could not stay in Chicago just because of that, could she? She did not even know if she loved him. Did she? She liked him. She had been working with him for over three years, and she loved every minute of it. Mark was a good teacher, a good doctor, and most importantly, a good friend. He could understand what she was feeling without her having to say anything. Plus, he obviously cared about her…

Yes. She did love him. What the hell was she doing? She loved Mark. Sure, she would always love little Suzie as if she was her own daughter, but why settle for raising her niece when she could be raising her own children? She had a life in Chicago, and she had a reason to stay - Mark Greene.

"Madam, you have to take a seat!" The conductor's voice was agitated, and Susan could have sworn she felt his saliva on her cheek.

"Like hell I do," she responded. Her voice was filled with determination. She had never been more sure of a decision. "You have to turn this train around. I need to get off right now."

"Do you realize that we're half an hour away from the station?" the conductor asked. He rolled his eyes in anger. "Of course you don't. You've been standing there ignoring any attempt at conversation!"

"Look, I'm sorry, sir," Susan began earnestly, "but I really need to get off this train." Her face flushed as she tried to think of a good lie. "I'm, uh, afraid of trains. They can crash and stuff. I'd feel much more comfortable on a plane." As those words crossed her mouth, Susan could feel her stomach lurch. She tried to shrug it off. She would not actually be getting on a plane, of course. All she needed was a good excuse to get off this train.

"Ma'am, I assure you that you are perfectly safe," the conductor began as he tried to keep his patience. "But you need to sit down right now," he told her as he started walking away from her.

Susan groaned with frustration. "You don't understand!" she yelled as she quickly followed him. "Please, try," she begged as she reached and grabbed his arm.

"What part of 'sit' and 'down' do you not understand?" the conductor snapped.

Susan frantically searched her pockets for something that could give her a good reason to stay. Damn. She had left her pager and anything work related back in the lounge at County. On the other hand, there was no reason for the conductor to know that. "I need to get off," she started again. "I just got paged by my work," she lied.

"Really," the conductor said with a raised eyebrow. "Where do you work?"

"Cook County General Hospital in the ER," Susan informed him. "And it's urgent, so I really do need to get off this train right now."

"I didn't hear anything," the conductor told her.

"It's on vibrate," Susan quickly lied. "Please," she begged once again.

The conductor shook his head in disbelief. "Why would they page you if you're on a train to Phoenix?" he asked simply.

"Um, because they didn't know I was going there," Susan lied. "It was a spontaneous and stupid decision I made because I was angry with a co-worker."

"Phoenix?" the conductor questioned.

"Well, my sister and niece live there," Susan said. "Look, it just went off again, so can you please let me off this train?" she asked.

"Show me," the conductor commanded.

Susan blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"Show me this pager," the man commanded once again.

Susan blushed. "I'd rather not," she said as she looked down to the ground. "Look, I just need to get off, ok?"

"You're not going anywhere until we get to Phoenix," the conductor told her. "Now take your seat."

Susan frowned at him, but did as she was told. It was hopeless. They were already almost an hour out of Chicago. As she sat down, she could feel the tears filling up behind her eyes. She fought hard to keep them from coming out. She had put these passengers through enough hell for a little while. She shook her head slightly. She was trying hard not to cry, but it was pointless.

Tears began rolling down her cheeks. She blew it. She had her chance with Mark, and she blew it. He was there at the station saying the three words she had been waiting to hear for the longest time, but she ignored it. She got on the train anyway. Susan sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with her green scarf.

An attendant knelt down in front of Susan and placed a gentle hand on her knee. "Are you really this terrified of trains?" he asked.

Susan took a deep breath and dabbed at her eyes again. The attendant offered her some tissues, which she took. She managed a weak smile as she wiped her eyes with them. "What can you do about it?" she asked. Why bother to tell him it was a lie? He was only doing his job.

"Well, another train had a small accident on the tracks," the attendant explained gently. "I only mention this because as a result, we'll need to go off course. Now, the driver is a good friend of mine, and I can convince her to get to another station if you're this uncomfortable," he explained.

Susan's smile widened. "Y-you can do that?" she asked as she stopped crying.

"Yes, ma'am, for you I can," he assured her. "It will only take about twenty minutes. Can you last that long?"

Susan slowly nodded. She was supposed to be terrified after all. "I think so," she said. "Thank you," she added. "Thank you very much."

The attendant started walking back down the aisle.

"Wait," Susan called as he turned back around.

"Yes?" he asked. "Do you need anything else?"

"Why me?" Susan asked. "You said for me, you could arrange to stop at some station. Why me?"

"You are Dr. Susan Lewis from County, right?" the attendant asked her simply.

Susan nodded. "Guilty as charged," she said. "Did I treat you?" she asked curiously.

The attendant shook his head. "Let's just say you helped someone very close to me, and now I'd like to return the favor," he told her.

Susan smiled. "That'll work," she said as she sat back in her seat.


	2. Chapter 2

Mark Greene stood in the lounge staring at what used to be Susan's locker. Now it was just a locker. Eventually someone would come along and use it and life would move on. Mark did not want to accept that. He groaned as he sat down and held his head in his hands.

"And after all that, she still got on the train?" Doug Ross asked as he sat down in one of the chairs opposite Mark. "Are you sure you said it right? What exactly did you tell her?"

Mark groaned. "I shouldn't have come here," he commented. "How could I expect you of all people to understand?"

Doug frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've never loved someone the way I loved Susan," Mark pointed out angrily. "Look, this day has been hell enough. I'm going…I don't know. Somewhere," he said. He was going to say home, but technically he lived at Susan's old place. He could not go there, but he did not want to go to his place either. He did not know where he wanted to go. He just had to get out of County.

"Tell Kerry I'm not feeling well," Mark said as he reached for his coat. He carefully put it over his scrubs then walked out of the lounge and out of the ER. He did not care what happened to the patients in there. For all he cared, the place could spontaneously combust. It only reminded him of Susan anyway.

"Ok," Doug agreed as he watched his friend go. He could not help but feel bad for the guy. Although he knew that Susan was leaving for Phoenix, part of him was convinced that she would stay if she knew about Mark's feelings for her.

"Mark leave?" Carol Hathaway asked as she entered the lounge with a chart.

Doug nodded. "Yea, he's not feeling so great," Doug pointed out.

"Did he get to her in time?" Carol asked. Her tone was sympathetic and caring.

Doug nodded once more. "He told her, but she got on the train anyway."

"Poor guy," Carol noted. She sighed tragically as she handed the chart to Doug. "But since he's gone, you're stuck with most of the cases. Thirty-five year old GSW to the chest waiting for you in trauma one along with Weaver."

Doug rolled his eyes. "Mark, you lucky bastard," he grumbled as he started walking out of the lounge.

Mark did not think so. He sat there sitting at the El station watching as various lines pass him. He still did not know where he wanted to go. The preferable place would have been Phoenix, but what was the point. If he went there, he would only be rejected again. He could not take that anymore. He could not take anything from this day anymore. He could already feel his eyes getting tired, so he felt it was useless trying to fight it. He did not want to go anywhere else, so he might as well fall asleep right there on the bench with the rumbling from the El in the background. He groaned, but his mind was made up. He turned over slightly on the bench so that he was on his side. His cheek was pressed against the cold, hard bench. His eyes felt heavy.

He slowly closed them. There she was. Susan. Mark opened his eyes again to look into the nothingness in the station. His eyes were getting too heavy. He had to close them. There she was again. Susan. Her blonde hair. Mark was gently stroking her cheek and moving her hair. He was moving closer to her. He was kissing her.

He was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Here, just take it," Susan said as she threw all her cash to the front of the cab. She quickly opened the back door and grabbed her suitcase. She was finally back at County. She had to see Mark. She slammed the taxi cab door shut and rushed to the inside of the hospital. "Where's Mark?" she asked as she approached the front desk of the ER. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, but she did not care. She had to find him. "Jerry, where is he?"

Carol was fighting back the urge to yawn as she rounded the corner towards the main desk and lobby area. "I'm out of here," she announced. She took one look over at Susan and dropped her mouth open in shock. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "What happened to Phoenix?"

"What happened to Mark?" Susan demanded. "Why won't anyone tell me where he is?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," Carol said. "He left hours ago."

"He didn't say anything about where he was going?" Susan asked.

Carol shook her head sadly. "Sorry," she told her.

"Damn it," Susan muttered as she walked away from the desk. She blew it. She blew it, and she knew it. She had her chance right there in front of her only hours earlier. There was Mark saying the things she had been waiting forever to hear from him. Now he was gone, and she did not know where he was.

Susan walked through the ambulance bay. A part of her wished that one of the ambulances would just come rushing in there and run her over. It would be better than feeling like this. "I love you, too," she whispered. She had a strong feeling that she had tears in her eyes again. Damn it. She hated feeling like that. Why couldn't things be easier? Why couldn't she have realized this feeling when Mark said he loved her? Why couldn't Mark have made his feelings clear earlier?

She sighed again. She did not have the energy or money for another taxi. She sighed. She supposed she could take the El home. Wait, it was not her home anymore. Technically, she sold it. She sighed again. She supposed she could stay at a hotel. Wherever she ended up, she would need to take the El to get there.

She slowly walked up the stairs to the station in a gaze. She could not remember actually walking them, but she had gotten from the ambulance bay to the top. There he was. The person she had been looking for. The reason she had gotten off the train in the first place. Mark.

He was asleep, she instantly noted, but she was still excited. It was really him. She had known him to fall asleep at the El station before, and she would not put it past him to do it again. She rushed over to him and just looked at him. He was really there. She was not imagining it. He had a little bit of drool running from his mouth down his chin.

"Hey there," she whispered softly as she sat down next to him. She took her warm coat off her own body and leaned in closer to Mark. She rested her head against his shoulder and dripped her coat over both of them. "I really do love you," she whispered.


End file.
